The tugboat and barge detained by MMEA yesterday.
KUCHING (April 11): The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) yesterday detained a tugboat and barge for failing to provide a valid Ship and Barge Registration Certificate.
MMEA Sarawak director First Admiral Kamal Ariffin Jusoh said the tugboat pulling the barge was detained at a distance of approximately 0.44 nautical miles southwest of Tun Abang Salahuddin Maritime Complex (Komtas) jetty.
“At 2.50pm yesterday, MMEA’s KM Tun Fatimah, which was conducting a patrol under the Pagar Laut Special Ops, detected a suspicious tugboat and barge in Kuching waters.
“The results of the inspection found that the two boats were manned by a crew of six men, consisting of three Indians, one local, one Burmese, and an Indonesian national between the ages of 22 and 59. All of them have valid identification documents,” he said in a statement.
He said the crew, tugboat and barge were detained before being escorted into the jetty of Komtas in Muara Tebas for further investigation.
“The case is being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (MSO) 1952/60 for failing to present a valid Ship and Barge Registration Certificate,” he said.
He added that the tugboat was also found to have committed an operational offence for carrying passengers without the permission of the port officer.
Kamal said Maritime Malaysia is always committed to carrying out patrols and monitoring to prevent any violation of the law, smuggling, invasion, and maritime crime in the country’s waters at all times.
“Any complaints and information regarding suspicious activities at sea, the public contact the Sarawak Maritime Operations Centre at 082-432544 or MERS 999 for immediate response,” he said.
